Your Impact On Pattie

April 22, 2016

My name is Pattie, and I’m 72 years old. I moved to Fort Collins about three years ago to be closer to my family. My daughter, her husband, and my grandchildren live here. They helped me out a lot. I lived with them for about a year and a half before I moved into my own place. During that time, I had a stroke, and it made me move a lot slower than I used to be. I also had knee replacement surgery while I was staying with them. It made me feel really bad because when I moved here, I was strong. After the surgery, I couldn’t walk up steps. I couldn’t pick up things. Everything that I was able to do before was practically cut in half. I really began to doubt myself.

I finally found this house that I could get for a good price. There were a lot of things wrong with it that I thought I could fix, but then I realized that I couldn’t do myself. My daughter and her husband both work, and they have a very busy lifestyle, so I couldn’t ask them to do some of the things that needed to be done.

Both the front door and the back door locks didn’t work on the house. I tried to fix them myself, but I couldn’t do it. I was sitting there trying to figure out what I was going to do when I had to go to the store, or church, or anything.

As I was sitting there, something in the back of my head said, “dial 2-1-1,” so I did. I explained my situation, and they said they’d be glad to help me figure out what to do. They asked me what I needed, and they quickly connected me with someone who could help me.

With the referral from 2-1-1, I was able to find someone to come help me. It wasn’t an easy job either. It required a lot of work, more than I had thought. And the gentleman did everything. I couldn’t believe it. It was so wonderful.

If I hadn’t called 2-1-1, I probably would have still had the doors unlocked and just hoping nobody came in. I am very thankful I was able to get this figured out.

I think it is important to have 2-1-1 as a resource in the community because of people like me. I never saw myself as somebody that would need help because I’ve always been strong and able to take care of myself. But with the knee replacement and stroke, I found myself in a situation I’ve never been in before. It’s wonderful that they have somebody like 2-1-1 to help.

I want to say, “Thank You,” to everyone who supports 2-1-1. Without it, I would be sitting here with the doors wide open without even having any locks on them. If you are able to donate, 2-1-1 is one of the most wonderful programs there is. I can’t thank you enough. I almost want to cry when I think about it. There are just no words to tell how much I appreciate it.